What's the story behind your food?
"After looking across the country to buy a farm property, we wound up not far from where we started. When we found our acre we were excited and thought it would be a great learning property to set up ..."
Workshops
Workshop Demonstration List for 2011 Local Food Fest
Workshop: Beekeeping (12:45 – 1:15)
Presenter: Alison Van Alten of Tuckamore Bee Company
Description
This workshop will teach you what you need to do to become a hobby beekeeper. Hive equipment will be reviewed and the basic responsibilities for a bee season will be highlighted. The value of honeybees as pollinators and the recent high mortality rates of honeybee colonies will be discussed. After the presentation, take a guided tour to the bee yard at Ignatius. Bring your questions!!
Presenter Bio
Alison grew up in a beekeeping family in NF. Her sister and father currently run the biggest apiary (100 colonies) on the island. Alison completed her studies at the university of Guelph specializing in honeybee diseases. For 15 years she worked as the Tech-Transfer Specialist for the Ontario Beekeepers' Assoc. doing honeybee research. As of Jan. 2010 Alison is a full time beekeeper in the Guelph area. Tuckamore Bee Company specializes in the production of bees for beekeepers. Alison is selecting for disease resistant honeybee stock. Tuckamore Bee also produces honey, which is sold locally at the Guelph Farmers Market, Ignatius Farm Store and Planet Bean.
Workshop: Building Community through Food and Fun (1:30 – 2:00 )
Presenter: Angelica Nef of Transition Guelph's Urban Food Working Group
Description:
In this workshop become introduced to the myriad of exciting urban food initiatives taking shape within the Urban Food Working Group of Transition Guelph. Learn about the Appleseed Collective (Guelph's underutilized fruit tree harvesting project), the Treemobile (an initiative to increase the number of fruit bearing trees and shrubs within the community), Sharing Backyards, urban agriculture tours, workshops and other fun food projects. Connect with us and help us build a more resilient community... and meet great people doing so!
Workshop: $100 Food Forest (2:00 – 2:30)
Presenter: Jennifer Osborn of All Sorts Acre Farm
Description:
Find out how $100, a 10x10 space, and an afternoon can bring you years of harvest in your own back yard. You'll be walked through the Principles of Permaculture, and a practical permaculture guild that will feed you, the insects, and the soil for years.
Presenter Bio:
Jennifer Osborn is a Permaculture Designer, Chartered Herbalist, artist, and educator. She lives with her compost guru husband Tim Fisher at All Sorts Acre; a peri-urban permaculture 1.18 acre micro-farm on the edge of Guelph. They have an assortment of chickens and tiny sheep, and gardens, and their own food forest.
Workshop: Fresh eggs every day – a simple guide to keep healthy backyard chickens. (2:45 – 3:15)
Presenter: Vicki Beard
Description: Come and join Vicki for a simple introduction on keeping your own backyard chickens. The workshop will include topics like selecting the right breed, legalities of keeping backyard chickens and how to build a chicken coop. You will learn about feed, health & safety issues and how to raise and keep happy healthy chickens.
Bio: Vicki Beard was raised on a family farm, employed as a herds person and past owner and operator of Brushcuts Pet Grooming. She is a former City of Guelph Councilor and very involved in food activism, active member of the Guelph Wellington Food Round Table. Vicki lives in Guelph and is a happy backyard chicken owner.
Workshop: Sustainable farming and sustainable diets- how rural landscape fits into the picture of urban communities (3:30 – 4:00)
Presenter: Val Steinman of Heartwood Farm
Description: Contented Cows, Frolicking Goats and Happy Hens: Can eating dairy, meat and eggs be good for the planet?
Sharing from her own experiences as a farmer, Val hopes to engage workshop participants in a lively conversation about ethical and healthy food choices for a changing world
Presenter Bio: Val Steinmann runs Heartwood Farm on 40-acres of ecologically diverse land, 20km northeast of Guelph, where she lives with her husband, Brent Klassen, and their 3 children. Aspiring to create a healthy, interconnected farm system, Val raises chickens, goats, beef and dairy cows and uses her team of draft horses to do some of the farm work. The family also makes maple syrup, hosts educational farm tours, shares land for vegetable production, and recently planted a fruit and nut orchard. Beyond contributing to the local, organic food supply, Val believes that small farms have great potential to inspire change towards creating more resilient, vibrant communities.
